US added 172,000 jobs in May as labor market shows signs of resilience

• Author Lawrence Wittner argues in a June 1, 2026, article that there is a significant disconnect between nationalist political rhetoric and the actual desires of the global population. • The piece highlights a "curious irony" where politicians frequently belittle international cooperation and rail against foreign nations despite widespread public support for solidarity.

• US-Iran war talks remain clouded by uncertainty as both Washington and Tehran issue conflicting messages regarding the status of negotiations. • In Lebanon, fighting persists between Israel and Hezbollah, indicating that the fragile ceasefire agreement is failing to hold.

Nasa says Russian crew trying to fix worsening air leak in its portion of orbital laboratoryAstronauts onboard the International Space Station have been ordered to shelter in their spacecraft and prepare for potential evacuation as a Russian crew attempts to fix a worsening leak of air in its portion of the orbital laboratory, Nasa has said.More details soon … Continue reading...

Paul Quinn, 52, to serve 24 years for attack that led to one of worst miscarriages of justice in modern British historyA man who evaded justice for nearly two decades has been jailed for 24 years for a “savage” rape for which Andrew Malkinson was wrongly imprisoned.Paul Quinn, 52, was found guilty of the 2003 attack in Salford after a fresh forensic analysis found traces of his DNA on the victim’s clothing. Continue reading...

Average tour earnings down 45%, with nearly three-fifths of musicians saying touring in Europe is no longer viableMore than a quarter of British musicians have lost all their EU work since 2021, according to new research.The report by European Movement UK, a cross-party campaign group advocating closer UK-EU relations, found that nearly half of UK musicians have seen their EU work reduced since 2021, while more than a quarter have lost it entirely. Continue reading...

Thousands have protested in the capital, Tirana, this week against a planned luxury resort backed by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.Groundwork has begun on the $1.6bn complex in an area long seen as one of the Mediterranean’s most environmentally sensitive, containing 200 species of birds including flamingos and Dalmatian pelicans.After builders began erecting a concrete-based, barbed wire-topped fence around the site, alarm turned to public outrage at the environmental damage and lack of political transparency around the deal.Lucy Hough speaks to US live news editor Chris Michael – watch on YouTube Continue reading...

Request for evidence to support claims of reputational and financial harm from Panorama documentary dismissed as ‘fishing expedition’Donald Trump’s legal team has rejected a request by the BBC to hand over financial information as part of his $10bn defamation case against the broadcaster.The US president’s lawyers accused the BBC of a “fishing expedition”, according to court filings, after the broadcaster’s representatives asked for details to get evidence on Trump’s claims he suffered reputational and financial damage by a Panorama documentary centred on the US Capitol riots. Continue reading...

Seven Republican senators joined Democrats to block Fisa extension amid disquiet over nomination of Bill PulteUS politics live – latest updatesSeven Republican senators joined Democrats early on Friday to block the extension of a powerful government surveillance program, a rebuke to Donald Trump for choosing an inexperienced ally as the country’s top intelligence official.The renewal had been in question amid bipartisan concern over the US president’s appointment of Bill Pulte, a major Republican donor and heir to a home construction fortune, to serve as acting director of national intelligence. Continue reading...

Republican states rebrand June as ‘nuclear family month’ or ‘fidelity month’ in latest attack on LGBTQ+ communitiesJune is widely marked as gay Pride month – when LGBTQ+ communities march to protest discrimination and celebrate their identities in the month that the modern US gay liberation movement was born out of the 1969 uprising at New York’s Stonewall Inn – although not so much in certain Republican-led states this year.Some Republican governors have suddenly come up with alternative labels for the month, which both supporters and opponents view as counterprogramming. Continue reading...

EU’s Maroš Šefčovič says summit will ‘probably’ be in July but sources say it could be put back as talks deadlockedUK politics live – latest updatesThe EU has said Keir Starmer’s upcoming summit “resetting” the UK-Europe relationship may still happen in July, amid growing fears it could be postponed to the autumn as talks over youth mobility remain deadlocked.“The summit is supposed to be mid-July but at the moment it could be put back to after the summer,” said one EU diplomat. Continue reading...

Campaigners say supreme court judgment on deprivation of liberty safeguards introduces ‘regressive legal standard’Severely disabled people will be at heightened risk of abuse in care homes and hospitals after the biggest upheaval in disability law in a generation overturned “vital” legal safeguards, campaigners have warned.They said a supreme court judgment that potentially strips the right of hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people to independent checks on the safety and appropriateness of their care “devalues the dignity of disabled people”. Continue reading...

King footing bill for Beatrice and Eugenie, and Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh subletting among findingsA report that revealed Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received undisclosed private income from subletting three cottages on his Royal Lodge estate in Windsor while paying a peppercorn rent to the crown estate also shines a spotlight on the property arrangements of other members of the royal family.The National Audit Office findings include the revelation that King Charles foots the bill for Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie’s accommodation in royal palaces, despite both being “non-working royals” (in that they don’t carry out royal duties), and that the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh also benefited from subletting their crown estate property. Continue reading...